Noise generation in vane axial fans due to rotating stall and surge

Abstract A characteristic of axial flow fans is instabilities in their performance and noise in partial load operation. These instabilities are a consequence of rotating stall created in the rotor blade and/or in the guide vane cascade. At some operating conditions the rotating stall caused the appearance of a surge representing the lowest region of fan operating stability. The rotating stall and especially surge caused a steep increase in the emitted noise and lowered the performance of the fan. The present paper highlights the rotating stall generation phenomenon and its influence on the emitted total noise level and noise spectra for axial flow fans with inlet and outlet guide vanes.